The lawsuit [PDF] also alleges that these car manufacturers deliberately misled consumers by hiding the dangers associated with computer car systems and failing to address subsequent safety concerns. Connected car hacking is a very big problem which was recently brought up by the TV program ’60 Minutes’ episode which shows that hackers could use a laptop to take over total control of a connected car, allowing them to remotely operate everything from the horn to the wipers to the brakes.
While cars get more and more automatic and smarter with technological innovations, it also becomes a living coffin if it can be hacked and hijacked by hackers. It can also be used for terrorist attacks by remotely sending the car to the target destinations. We had also reported a 14 year old kid being able to hack a connected car, operate its wipers, headlights, remotely start and stop it, with a $15 handmade circuit. Thats how easy it gets. The plaintiffs argue that all the three manufacturers, Toyota, GM and Ford knew for years that their CAN equipped vehicles have been susceptible to hacking and that ECUs cannot detect or stop the attacks, but have done little to address the issues. The suit claims that defects in the security of the networks allow hackers to take control of such basic functions such as braking, steering and acceleration, while preventing the driver from regaining control of the vehicle.
